Birding and other distractions

I arrived at 7:20 for the BTO Breeding Bird Survey at Seasalter. It was a sunny day though very windy. No surprise that the reserve is much drier since the previous visit in February for the Winter Bird Survey, though looks in superb condition. It was nice to see Yellow Wagtails, eight in total, plus good numbers of Skylarks today; of the 18 birds the majority were singing males. Sedge Warblers slightly outnumbered Reed Warbler as the commonest warbler with 14 individuals. A migrant flock of 10 Whimbrel flew west over the railway line, and a male Peregrine caused some mayhem amongst the Starlings and other birds on the marsh. Knowing that a Common Crane was still in the area I looked out for it, and found the bird on the east side of the reserve. It flew NW, more or less towards me in the direction of the railway line. Common Crane

The day started at the Kalloni Saltpans where a Spur-winged Plover afforded close views in the channel, and an attractive Black-headed Wagtail posed nearby. A ring-tail harrier unfortunately never came close though looked right for Montagu's. It was striking that the huge number of Swallows in recent days had now mostly departed. Thereafter we headed to the Filia mast track, the main target being E Bonelli's Warbler. It was a glorious morning and the hillside typically had a wonderful display of wild flowers. Initially the warbler proved somewhat elusive but then beyond the white chapel several were seen in oaks along the track. One bird sang and called from a single tree for at least 10 minutes, giving better views of the species than we achieved last year at this site. On the walk back further Bonelli's were heard, the final total t hought to be eight singing males. Other birds seen at the mast track included Hoopoe, E Subalpine Warbler, Common Buzzard, and approx five Ma...

Having had no luck in Achladeri forest with Kruper's Nuthatch we tried a different area today. It actually involved two sites, with success at each one as it turned out, both watched from a respectable distance to avoid disturbance to the birds. We jammed in on the first site seeing birders watching from the side of the road. A nest was in the top of a tall dead tree, with parent birds visiting about every five minutes, no doubt to feed the young. The birds were watched through the 'scope, no pictures being taken. The second site was about 0.5 km away, and proved harder to find. However, it was a similar situation, the nest being at the top of a dead tree, albeit a thinner one. The call of the bird first attracted attention, then an adult was seen. The bird did not visit as often as the first pair did, so maybe a less advanced nest in terms of development of young, or perhaps the female was still incubating. Masked Shrikes were also seen at both sites, plus two Red-rumped Swall...